Reunited
by CharlieBeanz
Summary: After months of being MIA, Logan is finally rescued and carried into the safety of the Ghosts. Nothing can hurt him anymore. Not Rorke. Not the Federation. Nothing, now that he's now reunited with his friends and family.


When they had found Logan, it was as if they had rescued another man. Logan was covered in dirt, mud, and blood, his body thin from malnourishment. His his open wounds were old and infected. His hair was grown and tangled, almost resembling a bird's nest. His right arm was twisted and mangled, and sticking out from his skin were bumps from bug bites and a few ticks, fattened by the blood they had sucked since they homed themselves in his body. Judging by this state, it was obvious he had been left for dead in that pit. The Ghosts had predicted the worst, thinking that Rorke had turned him against them. But no. It looks as if Rorke had given up on him, which means that he potentially had failed to turn him into the enemy. It was something they came to hypothesize after the rescue, but before, they were only concerned with saving the young man's life.

By the time they had gotten him back to safety, Logan's wounds were treated, he was cleaned and shaved, and his arm was cast, but the medics believed it was pretty much shattered, and possibly would have to be amputated if Logan was unable to use it due to the damage that had been done. But for now, Logan was safe; Safe from Rorke's torture. No one could hurt him now that the Ghosts had him back on their side. The one who stayed right by him since the rescue, and hasn't left since, was Hesh. He had been waiting and dreading for this day, wanting to reunite with Logan and never let him go, but feared that who he was saving wasn't even his brother. Logan had not yet woken up, and it would be determined whose side he was on by the time he opened his eyes.

For two days, Hesh had not left the room Logan was resting in. He waited patiently, yet anxiously, to see those chocolate eyes open, and was constantly talking with the doctors about his condition. They told him the same thing, yet in different words. Logan was going to be okay, but for now, he was in pain. Once he's rested it off, he'd wake up when his body allowed him to. It was close to midnight when those deep, dark brown eyes finally opened.

Hesh was sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair right next to Logan's bed, legs crossed and leaning on one arm as he was close to dozing off. His attention was quickly drawn to Logan when saw his fingers twitch and his body move slightly. Hesh sat up quickly, "Logan? Logan, can you hear me?"

Logan turned his head in the direction of his brother's voice, groaning softly as he struggled to wake up. "Come on, Logan, wake up…" Hesh whispered, almost to himself.

The first time Logan's eyes opened, they were quickly closed, blinded by the bright light in the room. The second time, they adjusted, looking drowsy and glassy as they tried to focus on Hesh, who was standing beside him, looking anxiously down on him. Logan looked close to falling back asleep, but he kept his eyes on his older brother.

"Hesh…" Logan spoke, weakly and wearily.

"Hey…" Hesh smiled, almost close to crying as his voice broke.

Logan was silent for a moment, still processing where he was. He didn't know he was out of the pit, as everything still felt numb to him and couldn't tell the difference between the soft sheets and the sinking mud from the pit.

"What're you doing here…? Rorke… He's gonna…"

"You're not with him anymore, Logan. You're safe, and he's not gonna hurt you."

Logan's expression changed, and his eyes turned even glassier. His vision adjusted completely, coming to his own realization that he was okay and well distanced from Rorke, and he was now with the person he loves and cares about. He lifted his hand, trying to reach out to Hesh while attempting to sit up. Hesh, grabbing gently onto his hand and using his arm to help Logan up, pulled his baby brother into a tight hug, to which Logan held on tightly to him upon being pulled in.

The two said nothing to each other, silenced in emotion. As Hesh finally breathed in, Logan could tell he was crying. Normally, he'd tease his brother for doing something like that, saying something along the lines like, "There's no crying in football." But right now, he didn't, because he was crying too.

When Hesh loosened his grip, Logan kept holding on tightly, "Don't…" To which Hesh settled back in, holding his brother desperately and never wanting to let go, fearing that if he did, he'd turn into ashes. Only when Logan was ready to let go, he did the same.

"The others…" Logan asked, "Are they okay?"

"They're alright," Hesh nodded.

Logan sighed, smiling and brushing his tears away, "Man… I thought you guys weren't coming…" His smile faded, "Rorke was convinced you weren't coming… I thought I was gonna be stuck in that pit forever."

At the sound of that name, Hesh could feel his blood boil. Rorke did this. He hurt his brother, after he made a promise that he would always protect him. As Hesh looked over at the damage that had been done, he could feel that childhood promise break, "We tried to find you sooner. I told everyone that I wouldn't rest until I found you but-"

"It's okay," Logan interrupted, sensing his brother's guilt.

"I was so scared we'd be too late… I thought he would've brainwashed you or worse-!"

"I wouldn't let him…" Logan interrupted, pausing before swallowing thickly, his mind diving back into the moments when he was a prisoner in Rorke's hell, "After everything he's done… What he's done to the other Ghosts, our dad… I wasn't gonna let him have his way." Logan drifted off, vivid memories—Memories full of pain, blood and screams—played back in his mind, and he tensed up, "There were times when I thought I was gonna just… Give up. But I never stopped thinking about who I am… I'm a Ghost," Logan grinned, "And Ghosts don't break."

Hesh let out a chuckle, squeezing Logan's shoulder, "Yeah, that's right."

Suddenly, the door opened quickly, and first peeping in was Riley, pulling against his leash, which was being held by Keegan, who came in with his eyes immediately widening as he saw Logan sitting up. Behind him was Kick, who let out an amused chuckle, "Thought we heard someone talking! Keegan, you're seeing this right?"

"Guys…!" Logan's eyes were wet again, and his eyes drifted down to the K9 calmly at the bed sheets, "Riley, hey…!"

Riley only looked up at Logan, unsure what to make of him at first. "Oh," Logan said quietly, "I don't think he recognizes me."

"Riley, come on, boy," Hesh patted the foot of the bed, allowing Riley to hop up, "You remember Logan, right?" Logan stretched out his hand, allowing Riley to sniff it. It only took a few sniffs for him to start wagging his tail widely, crawling up so he could sniff and lick at Logan's face.

"Yeah, it's me!" Logan laughed, running his hand through Riley's fur as he shook and whined with excitement. Soon the ball of fur was all over him, his tail out of control as he pawed at Logan, spinning around, laying down to expose his belly for Logan to pet while letting out cries and yelps. "I know, boy," Logan told Riley, "I missed you too."

Keegan, after being frozen for what felt like moments, finally walked over, approaching Logan and standing opposite of Hesh. Logan, holding Riley's head against his chest, glanced over at Keegan.

"Good to see you're awake, kid," Keegan said, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder, "How are you feeling?"

"Like a million bucks," Logan answered, shortly before being distracted by Riley's excitement once again.

Footsteps came echoing down the hall, and coming in through the door was Kick, this time with Merrick by his side, "See, see? Look at him, he's awake and everything!"

"Holy shit," Merrick appeared to be in disbelief at first.

"Merrick…!" Logan looked over the top of Riley's head, overcome with tears once more, "You guys…"

Logan dipped his head, hiding his tears while collecting his thoughts. The feeling of safety washed over him like a calm wave. He was no longer under Rorke's torture. He no longer had to wake up wondering which bone Rorke was going to break. He no longer had to ingest food laced with poison. He no longer had to sleep under the burning sun or pounding rain.

"I…" Logan tried to say something, but wept into Riley's fur, trembling with emotion, "I thought I was never gonna see you again… I don't know how to thank you."

But he was here, reunited with his friends and brother, who would do anything in their power to keep him in the safety net.

"You don't have to, kid," Merrill patted his knee as he walked over to his side, "And while it's good to see you awake and all, it'd probably be a good idea to keep resting."

"You're joking, right? With everyone here, I need to know what happened when I was gone, a-and I should help you guys find Rorke-"

"Another time, Logan. Try to get some sleep." Merrick looked at everyone else, "Come on, guys. We still have a lot to do."

Keegan glanced down at Logan, grinning and nodding at him, "We'll see you soon, kid."

Logan almost wanted to reach out; He wanted everyone to stay. But instead, he let everyone leave his room. Before Merrick closed the door, he looked behind him once more, finding that Hesh and Riley had not moved.

"Hesh, come on."

"I'll catch up in a minute," Hesh waved him off, turning his attention to Logan, whose face sunk into a deep combination of sadness and fatigue.

"Anything you need right now, Logan?" He asked.

"Yeah…" Logan nodded sadly, "Only problem is Rorke has it."

"What does he have?"

"Dad's mask… It's the only thing I had left of him, and Rorke took it away."

Hesh sighed silently, recalling the day when he identified their father under that mask. "Nothing we can really do about it for the moment. We'll get it back though, and then some."

Logan nodded, speaking almost in a whisper, "Okay…"

"I'll check in with you in the morning. We'll be right down the hall, the doctors aren't too far away, so if you need anything, just call."

"Got it."

"Get some sleep."

Hesh rubbed Logan's back before getting up, summoning Riley to his side, but the K9 wouldn't obey, instead lasting right down beside Logan's feet.

"Can he stay?" Logan asked.

That earned a chuckle out of Hesh, "I suppose so. Will you be okay sleeping with him curled up like that?"

"He won't bother me. I'll be fast asleep by the time he decides to hog the bed."

"Yeah? Well don't let him. You need it more than he does."

"Haha… Will do."


End file.
